


Skam DC Season 4 Episode 5: The Same Me I've Always Been

by skamDC (bramgreenfeld)



Series: Skam DC: Season 4 [6]
Category: Original Work, SKAM (Norway)
Genre: Gen, Multi, violence tw for clip 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:54:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26980978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bramgreenfeld/pseuds/skamDC
Summary: Safiyya Bashir knows that this is going to be one of the most important years of her life. Junior year is one of the biggest things that colleges look at, and she’s determined to make it count. It should have been easy - she was the clear frontrunner for editor of the school newspaper this year, and there certainly aren’t any distractions in her love life. What she never expected was opposition from someone she’d tried hard to ignore, the return of old friends from her past - and that she might actually have a chance with the girl of her dreams.
Relationships: Safiyya Bashir/Ruby Rahim, Theo Rivera/Callum Wilder, Willa Liu/Holly Rojas Castillo
Series: Skam DC: Season 4 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1918819
Kudos: 6





	1. SATURDAY 11:31AM: ALL NIGHT

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10TH, 11:31AM

INT. BASHIR HOUSE, SAFIYYA'S BEDROOM

Let's Fall In Love For The Night by FINNEAS plays over a shot of SAFIYYA lying on her stomach in bed, looking at her phone. A closer look reveals that she is looking at the pictures that she and RUBY posted on Instagram the previous night. A soft smile spreads across her face.

She begins to feel a tugging sensation on the blanket beneath her. The song stops abruptly as she glances over the edge of her bed and sees NALA clawing at it.

SAFIYYA  
No, baby, no.

She gently separates the cat and the blanket, bringing NALA up onto the bed with her. She looks back at the Instagram posts, but is distracted by the sound of her mother's voice.

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER (O.S.)  
Where have you been all night?

JAMEEL (O.S.)  
I stayed over at Kayvan's place.

SAFIYYA stands up, going over to her door. She opens it up just enough to see out into the hallway where JAMEEL and their MOTHER are speaking to each other.

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER  
I'm not so sure that that's true.

JAMEEL  
It literally is.

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER  
Don't take that tone with me.

JAMEEL  
Don't accuse me of lying, then! I didn't do anything wrong.

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER  
You didn't call, you didn't text and tell us where you were...

JAMEEL  
My phone died.

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER  
Why didn't you use Kayvan's, then?

JAMEEL  
I didn't think about it.

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER  
Hmm.

JAMEEL  
What? I didn't think about it! I'm really sorry that I made you worry, but I'm telling the truth.

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER  
You haven't talked about Kayvan in so long. I didn't even think you were still friends.

JAMEEL looks flustered.

JAMEEL  
I'm -

SAFIYYA comes out of her room.

SAFIYYA  
Hey, Jameel, did Nadia give you that journalism stuff for me? She just texted me about it, so...

JAMEEL glances at her, momentarily confused. SAFIYYA raises her eyebrows at him.

JAMEEL  
Right! Yeah, it's in my room. Come on.

The two walk off towards JAMEEL'S room, leaving their MOTHER behind.

SAFIYYA  
(whispered)  
You owe me.

JAMEEL does not reply.


	2. TUESDAY 12:11PM: KARAOKE APOCALYPSE

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13TH, 12:11PM

INT. BUCHANAN HIGH SCHOOL, CLASSROOM

SAFIYYA, THEO, HOLLY, and WILLA are sitting on the floor in the corner of the classroom. HOLLY checks the time on her phone.

HOLLY  
Where's -

KEIRA runs into the room, coming to sit with them.

KEIRA  
Sorry that I took so long!

WILLA  
It's fine!

KEIRA  
I got caught up talking to some of the other theatre people about Friday.

SAFIYYA  
What's Friday?

KEIRA pauses.

KEIRA  
Have I not told you guys yet?

THEO shakes her head.

THEO  
You have not.

KEIRA  
We're having a fundraiser on Friday! It's a karaoke thing in the gym. They're letting us use the projector and Isaac is bringing in his karaoke machine...it's going to be so cool. Did you not know about it? They've been talking about it on the morning announcements for like a week.

SAFIYYA  
No one listens to the morning announcements.

WILLA  
Yeah, I don't really want to hear about whatever's happening in baseball.

HOLLY  
There's no baseball. It's October.

WILLA  
Whatever's happening in sportsball.

KEIRA  
So? Are you guys coming?

THEO  
How much are tickets?

KEIRA  
They're ten dollars, but we're also selling concessions. I'm making cupcakes.

WILLA  
It sounds fun. I'll be there.

HOLLY  
Same.

THEO  
Same.

The girls glance over at SAFIYYA.

THEO  
Saffy?

SAFIYYA sighs.

SAFIYYA  
I guess I'll go, I just...karaoke makes me cringe so hard.

KEIRA  
What? Why?

HOLLY  
Like karaoke from you, or karaoke from someone else?

SAFIYYA  
I've never actually done it myself, but from another person it's just...weird. Half the time they're not even good singers, and they always end up making eye contact with you...

KEIRA  
But you'll go?

SAFIYYA  
I'll go. For you.

THEO  
You don't have to worry. I'll stand in front of you if the singers try to make eye contact.

SAFIYYA  
Yes, please. Protect me from the karaoke apocalypse.

HOLLY laughs.

HOLLY  
Karaoke apocalypse. It won't be climate change or nuclear war or whatever that takes us out. It'll be the sheer awkwardness of a bunch of high schoolers doing karaoke.

Everyone else laughs, too. WILLA stands up.

WILLA  
I'm going to head to the cafeteria, does anyone else need to go?

KEIRA  
I do!

She stands quickly, stumbling. SAFIYYA grabs onto her leg, steading her.

SAFIYYA  
Whoa, slow down.

KEIRA smiles self-consciously. She and WILLA leave the room. THEO picks up her water bottle, pretending that it's a microphone.

THEO  
 _I hop off the plane at LAX..._

HOLLY and SAFIYYA burst out laughing.


	3. WEDNESDAY 11:59AM: ON AND OFF

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14TH, 11:59AM

INT. BUCHANAN HIGH SCHOOL, HALLWAY

SAFIYYA is standing at a vending machine, scanning the options in front of her. Eventually she chooses a bag of trail mix.

KAI (O.S.)  
Seriously? Trail mix?

SAFIYYA turns - KAI is coming up behind her.

SAFIYYA  
Yeah. It's brain food, I guess.

KAI  
It's M & Ms with obstacles. I don't think I have a brain anymore, anyway.

SAFIYYA  
Anymore?

KAI grins, inserting a dollar into the vending machine. He selects a pack of Reese's cups and tears them open immediately.

SAFIYYA  
Are you not going back to class?

KAI shakes his head.

KAI  
No, what's the point? I'm just going to stay here and wait for the PSAT memes to start coming in.

SAFIYYA  
Did you have the lady with five pounds of bananas?

KAI'S eyes widen.

KAI  
No. I thought it was ten.

SAFIYYA shakes her head.

SAFIYYA  
I don't think so.

KAI groans, putting his head in his hands. 

KAI  
Time to spend the weekend curled up in a ball thinking about my mistakes.

SAFIYYA  
So you're not going to the karaoke thing on Friday?

KAI looks up with a grin.

KAI  
Hell yeah, I'm going!

SAFIYYA smiles, bewildered.

SAFIYYA  
You seem way more excited than I thought you would be.

KAI  
Why? Karaoke's fun.

SAFIYYA  
Is it?

KAI  
Yeah!

SAFIYYA  
Ugh.

KAI  
We can sing a duet.

SAFIYYA  
No, we can't.

KAI  
You mean you won't?

SAFIYYA  
No, we can't do it. The universe will implode.

KAI  
Are you going to sing with that girl you like, then?

SAFIYYA  
I'm not going to sing with anyone - hey!

She reaches out and swats his arm. KAI steps back, laughing.

KAI  
So I'm right? You do have a crush on that girl?

SAFIYYA  
You don't even know what girl you're talking about.

KAI  
The girl whose skateboarding videos you watch on Instagram. The girl who you text during class makes you smile at your phone. The girl at the cast party who you looked at like you were the pleading face emoji. _That_ girl. 

SAFIYYA groans.

SAFIYYA  
I really hate you sometimes, you know?

KAI  
Who is she, then?

SAFIYYA  
She's my brother's friend. And...you know Aaliyah, right?

KAI nods.

KAI  
Yeah. She's awesome.

SAFIYYA  
That's her sister.

KAI  
Oh, cool! I've never actually met her. You'll have to introduce me.

SAFIYYA shakes her head.

SAFIYYA  
We're not a - we're not dating. 

KAI  
Well, if you want some advice...

SAFIYYA  
I don't want it from you. How many time were you and Jasper on and off before you made it official?

KAI shrugs.

KAI  
That depends on what you consider off and what you consider on. What are you guys right now?

SAFIYYA shakes her head.

SAFIYYA  
I don't know. It depends on what _you_ consider off and what you consider on. 

KAI nods.

KAI  
Fair.

The lunch bell rings, and KAI grins.

KAI  
 _Yes_. I'm so hungry. 

SAFIYYA  
You just inhaled a pack of Reese's cups.

KAI  
So? That's not lunch. I'll see you in bio tomorrow? And at karaoke on Friday?

SAFIYYA  
Sure.

KAI  
Great!

He takes off down the hallway. SAFIYYA watches him go with a slight smile. She takes another bite of her trail mix, thinking about what he has said. 


	4. THURSDAY 2:58PM: SECRETS

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15TH, 2:58PM

INT. BASHIR HOUSE, SAFIYYA'S BEDROOM

SAFIYYA enters her room and stops short - her mother is looking through one of her dresser drawers.

SAFIYYA  
What are you doing?

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER looks up, trying to feign ignorance.

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER  
Oh, have you seen my -

SAFIYYA shakes her head.

SAFIYYA  
You were looking through my things. Don't try to deny it, I know that's what you were doing.

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER sighs.

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER  
Yes. I was.

SAFIYYA just stares at her, her eyes wide.

SAFIYYA  
Why?

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER  
Because I feel like I don't know you anymore, Safiyya.

SAFIYYA  
What do you mean, you don't know me? I'm the same me I've always been.

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER shakes her head.

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER  
You won't ever talk about your friends or your school. Your father found out that you became editor of the school newspaper from Ruby - and apparently you're close with Ruby now? I saw you with her Friday night.

SAFIYYA  
Yeah? What's wrong with that?

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER  
There's nothing wrong with it. It just seems like you're keeping secrets. You and Jameel - with Jameel not coming home on Friday, and the whole thing with the alcohol a few weeks ago? You know more about that than you're telling me. I know you do.

SAFIYYA scowls.

SAFIYYA  
I don't know anything.

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER  
Neither do I. That's the problem.

SAFIYYA stares at her for another moment, then drops her bag on the floor.

SAFIYYA  
You know what? Fine. Keep looking, you're not going to find anything. And if you want me to talk to you more, this isn't the way to get me to do it.

SAFIYYA'S MOTHER  
Safiyya, wait -

But SAFIYYA has already turned and left the room.

EXT. BASHIR HOUSE, BACKYARD

SAFIYYA is sitting on a swing set, idly swinging her legs and scrolling through Instagram. The sound of footsteps can be heard, and JAMEEL sits down next to her.

JAMEEL  
Fighting with Mom?

SAFIYYA doesn't look up.

SAFIYYA  
How could you tell?

JAMEEL  
I heard you.

They sit in silence for a moment. JAMEEL looks over at her.

JAMEEL  
What were you and Ruby doing?

SAFIYYA looks up, startled?

SAFIYYA  
What?

JAMEEL  
On Friday? Mom said that she saw you two together.

SAFIYYA  
Oh. Um, she was just walking me home after we dropped you off.

JAMEEL  
At night?

SAFIYYA  
Yeah?

She swings her feet a little more to make the swing move. JAMEEL smirks.

SAFIYYA  
What's with that face?

JAMEEL  
What face? This is just my face.

SAFIYYA  
Whatever.

JAMEEL joins her in swinging.

JAMEEL  
So, keeping secrets, huh?

SAFIYYA  
Mom seems to think I am.

JAMEEL  
I think you are, too.

SAFIYYA  
Yeah, and so are you. What the hell happened to make you get so drunk last week?

JAMEEL shrugs, looking straight ahead.

JAMEEL  
Nothing.

SAFIYYA  
Something.

JAMEEL sighs.

JAMEEL  
Look. It's nothing that important, okay? And I'm not going to do it again. I promise.

SAFIYYA  
I hope not. Mom knows that I'm lying about not knowing.

JAMEEL  
I know.

SAFIYYA  
That means that she knows that you're lying, too.

JAMEEL  
Oh, I definitely know that. She's still pissed at me for not coming home on Friday.

SAFIYYA  
Yeah, and she's pissed at _me_ for something she doesn't even know about.

JAMEEL shakes his head.

JAMEEL  
Yeah, I know. It sucks. But the thing is, Mom grew up in a completely different time and place than us. She doesn't really know what it's like to be us.

SAFIYYA nods.

SAFIYYA  
Yeah.

She stops swinging, dragging her feet through the dirt. JAMEEL follows, reaching out to tap her shoulder.

JAMEEL  
Hey. Why do you look so sad?

SAFIYYA  
I'm not sad.

jAMEEL  
Good. When you're sad, I'm sad.

SAFIYYA smiles. JAMEEL stands up and begins to head towards the house.

SAFIYYA  
Hey, Jameel?

JAMEEL turns around.

JAMEEL  
Yeah?

SAFIYYA  
Are you doing anything tomorrow?

JAMEEL  
I'm certainly not doing what I did last week. No, I'm free, what's up?

SAFIYYA  
There's this stupid karaoke fundraiser at my school. One of my friends is helping to put it on, and she wanted me to see if more people could go, so...

JAMEEL nods.

JAMEEL  
That actually sounds kind of fun. I'll come. I'll bring Ruby.

SAFIYYA'S smile gets wider.

SAFIYYA  
Good.

JAMEEL goes back into the house. SAFIYYA begins to swing again, going higher and higher.


	5. FRIDAY 4:40PM: LONELY WORLD

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16TH, 4:40PM

INT. BUCHANAN HIGH SCHOOL, HALLWAY

Indistinct noises can be heard from the gym as SAFIYYA approaches the table in front of it. ETHAN, sitting there scrolling through his phone, looks up.

ETHAN  
Hey.

SAFIYYA  
Um, hi. Do you do theater?

ETHAN shakes his head.

SAFIYYA  
Then how did you get this job?

ETHAN  
My boyfriend volunteered me.

SAFIYYA looks stunned.

SAFIYYA  
You have a boyfriend?

ETHAN  
Yeah. Why do you sound so surprised? Are you homophobic?

SAFIYYA  
No, I...I'm literally gay. I kind of thought that you were.

ETHAN  
What, homophobic? Yeah, understandable. Do you want to get in?

SAFIYYA  
Um, yes, please.

ETHAN  
Ten dollars, please.

SAFIYYA hands him a ten dollar bill. ETHAN tears a wristband off of a strip on the table.

ETHAN  
Can I see your wrist?

SAFIYYA holds it out.

SAFIYYA  
Not too tight.

ETHAN  
Got it.

He puts on the wristband.

ETHAN  
Okay, have fun.

SAFIYYA  
Thanks.

She enters the gym.

INT. BUCHANAN HIGH SCHOOL, GYM

There's a pretty big crowd in the gym, bigger than SAFIYYA was expecting. Their attention is turned towards the front of the room, where NIA and KAI are standing on a makeshift stage, singing an incredibly dramatic rendition of Blank Space by Taylor Swift. The lyrics are projected onto screens on either side of the room.

THEO (O.S.)  
Safiyya!

SAFIYYA glances around, seeing a head of green hair towards the middle of the crowd. She begins to awkwardly maneuver towards her.

On stage, KAI stops singing, holding his microphone out to NIA.

NIA  
 _'Cause darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream._

The crowd cheers, just as SAFIYYA reaches THEO, WILLA, HOLLY, and KEIRA. WILLA is cheering right along with them.

WILLA  
Fuck, I love them so much.

THEO grins at SAFIYYA.

THEO  
Not as bad as you were picturing, huh?

SAFIYYA shakes her head.

SAFIYYA  
No. It's actually kind of nice.

HOLLY is filming KAI and NIA as they sing.

HOLLY  
He's having way too much fun with this.

KEIRA  
You put him on stage once and then he never wants to get off of it.

SAFIYYA  
You're technically the one that put him on stage.

KEIRA  
You know, I can't figure out if I regret that or not.

The song ends. KAI bows and makes NIA bow as well. They exit the "stage", their place taken by THEO RIVERA and KAYVAN. Next to SAFIYYA, THEO F. stands up on her toes, trying to see.

THEO F.  
Who's that with Theo?

HOLLY is saving the video of KAI to her phone.

HOLLY  
His name's Kayvan. They're psychology partners.

HOLLY holds her phone up again, her finger hovering over the record button.

HOLLY  
I'm so happy that they're publicly embarrassing themselves like this, oh my god. I'm never letting them forget about it.

THEO R. and KAYVAN pick up their microphones and take their places on the stage as Don't Stop Believin' by Journey begins to play.

KAI, standing in the audience with JASPER, CALLUM, and AUGUST, cups his hands around his mouth.

KAI  
Fucking Gleek!

THEO R. flips him off. The audience laughs.

THEO R.  
 _Just a small town girl_  
 _Living in a lonely world_  
 _She took the midnight train goin' anywhere_

He glances at KAYVAN. KAYVAN sighs, a smile on his face, and shyly joins in.

THEO R./KAYVAN  
 _Just a city boy_  
 _Born and raised in South Detroit_  
 _He took the midnight train goin' anywhere_

The gym door opens, and SAFIYYA glances over her shoulder to see JAMEEL and RUBY entering. THEO F. follows her gaze and nudges her shoulder, smiling.

KAYVAN, too, has seen them enter, and has fallen silent, completely frozen on stage. THEO R. notices, faltering a little now that he's unexpectedly singing alone. He recovers quickly and steps closer to KAYVAN with a reassuring smile. KAYVAN lets out a breath and resumes singing, now sharing a microphone with THEO R.

THEO R./KAYVAN  
 _Strangers waitin'_  
 _Up and down the boulevard_  
 _Their shadows searchin' in the night_  
 _Streetlight people_  
 _Livin' just to find emotion_  
 _Hidin' somewhere in the night_

THEO R. attempts to hit a high note but fails spectacularly. The crowd cheers anyway. The only one not cheering is CALLUM, whose arms are crossed, a scowl spreading across his face.

TIME JUMP

SAFIYYA, THEO F., HOLLY, WILLA, KAI, JASPER, and AUGUST are sitting towards the top of the bleachers. Someone is singing an off-key rendition of Don't Stop Me Now by Queen on the stage.

THEO F.  
So how awkward is it?

SAFIYYA shrugs.

SAFIYYA  
Still pretty awkward.

KAI groans.

KAI  
Come on. It's fun.

SAFIYYA  
It's both. It's kind of...I don't know, it's actually kind of cool.

AUGUST  
Yeah! There's a great energy here, you know?

SAFIYYA smiles to herself.

SAFIYYA  
Yeah. Like anything could happen.

JASPER  
Damn. Words to live by.

WILLA, sitting on a lower seat than the others, leans back against HOLLY'S legs.

WILLA  
What happened to Keira?

THEO F. shrugs.

THEO F.  
I don't know where she went.

HOLLY focuses on a point over THEO F.'S shoulder.

HOLLY  
Um, I do.

SAFIYYA follows her gaze. KEIRA is getting up on stage.

THEO F.  
Oh my god, what?

She cheers, and KEIRA smiles.

WILLA  
Let's go, we have to be in the front for this.

SAFIYYA'S phone vibrates. She glances down, seeing that she has a text, but not able to read what it actually says.

KAI  
Safiyya? Are you coming?

SAFIYYA  
I'll be there in a sec.

Everyone else gets up, pushing to the front of the crowd. SAFIYYA remains where she is, looking down at her phone. She's received a text from her mother: "I'm so sorry about yesterday. You were right that that isn't the way to get you to talk to me. You can talk to me about whatever you want whenever you're ready"

SAFIYYA smiles brightly, sending a heart emoji back to her. She glances up, looking around the gym. KEIRA has taken her place on the stage, beginning to sing Bad Guy by Billie Eilish.

Her voice becomes background music as SAFIYYA turns her head, glancing out of the window. She frowns, sitting up straighter - RUBY, JAMEEL, KAYVAN, CALLUM, and THEO R. are all right outside on the sidewalk. CALLUM is yelling at KAYVAN, with KAYVAN looking pissed, but a lot less aggressive. THEO R. stands behind CALLUM, but isn't doing anything to stop what's happening, a guilty expression on his face. JAMEEL and RUBY are further down the sidewalk - they appear to have been walking away, but whatever was happening behind them caught their attention.

As SAFIYYA watches, CALLUM draws his arm back and punches KAYVAN in the face. KAYVAN recoils, his hand going to his nose - and JAMEEL begins to move forward.

SAFIYYA stands up, rushing out of the gym.

EXT. BUCHANAN HIGH SCHOOL, GYM

KEIRA'S voice transitions into Billie Eilish's version of Bad Guy, which still plays in the background. SAFIYYA runs towards JAMEEL and CALLUM, who have begun to fight. THEO is hanging even further back than he was previously, helpless and alone, one of his arms reaching across his body to grab the other. KAYVAN is nowhere to be found.

RUBY is attempting to break up the fight.

RUBY  
What the actual fuck is wrong with you?

SAFIYYA runs forwards, getting right up in the fight and attempting to separate the two boys.

SAFIYYA  
Stop! Stop it!

CALLUM'S hand clips her and she stumbles back. JAMEEL'S eyes widen, and he steps backwards. CALLUM is still trying to swing at him.

JAMEEL  
Enough! What the hell is your problem, man?

CALLUM  
You came after me!

JAMEEL  
You came after my...

He falters. THEO sees his chance, running up and putting a hand on CALLUM'S shoulder.

THEO  
Let's just go, okay?

CALLUM turns, glaring at him - SAFIYYA now sees that CALLUM'S nose is bleeding the same way that KAYVAN'S was. They hold a moment of charged eye contact before CALLUM wrenches his shoulder away.

CALLUM  
Fine.

He turns around, beginning to walk away. THEO glances over his shoulder at SAFIYYA, JAMEEL, and RUBY before following him. SAFIYYA looks over at JAMEEL.

SAFIYYA  
Jameel -

JAMEEL shakes his head.

JAMEEL  
Not now, okay?

He walks off in the opposite direction. RUBY runs after him. SAFIYYA stays where she is between them, looking down at the spots of blood that have gotten onto her hands. She closes her eyes and clenches her fists, trying to calm herself down. She turns back towards the school building.

It takes her a moment to process what's going on. She sees the group of people gathered in front of the doors - not a huge crowd, but a decent number. She sees the shocked, even excited expressions on their faces. She sees that they have their phones out, pointed at her. They've caught the whole fight on video - and they've caught her right in the middle of it all.

CUT TO END CREDITS.

**Author's Note:**

> to see this season's playlist, the characters' instagrams, and get a link to the skam dc discord, head to my tumblr @skamdc


End file.
